IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. The global chat.
The idea is just like any other chat... webchat, javachat
and so on... You choose a nickname and joins a channel (room).
But IRC is far more advanced then any other chat.
First of all you need a client (program) so you can connect to
an IRC-network, an IRC-network is built up by many IRC-servers
that are linked together. Often it can be up to 800 users on
one server and 30 000 on one network. You can find
clients here and a list of servers/networks
here. After you have downloaded it you need to config some stuff before
you can connect to the IRC-network. We start from the begining:

An IRC script is essentially a collection of IRC commands compiled to server specific commands and do specific tasks. These can be used to alias exsisting
commands to shorter commands or to bundle a whole set of commands that carry out a specific procedure under just a single command. Most of all clients uses
scripts written in TCL. The mIRC client has its own language.

A BOT (short for ROBOT) is basically a script that is written to respond to commands and events. Mainly BOTs are used to do some channel functions that you
think are a lot cooler because a BOT is doing them. There are a couple of different types of BOTs: war BOTs, bar BOTs, and channel BOTs. War BOTs are
written to cause havoc and trouble on most IRC users. Many people think war BOTs are the greatest thing around, but they are not. A channel BOT is basically
what most BOTs are. It will do most channel commands, like op, deop, kick, and ban. A channel BOT is the best type of BOT to have. It doesn't have some of the
annoying features that the next BOT, a bar BOT, has. A bar BOT does basically things like serve drinks, food, play games, etc. Some people like bar BOTs; some
people don't. If you are in a technical channel like #mirc, #windows, #winsock, etc., a bar BOT would not be used for that type of channel. However, a bar BOT is
great for channels like #mirccafe, #irccafe, #startrek, and role-playing games channels.

(DISCLAIMER) All of this text in not an original composition by me. Parts have been collected from all over the web, usenet groups, and IRC channels.
If you feel you deserve credit for anything contained here, contact me, and I will be happy to acknowledge your contribution.

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